Male breast cancer is a form of cancer that sometimes goes unnoticed
and uncared for long periods of time because not many men are aware
that they can have male breast cancer. While it is much more common
for women to get breast cancer, men do have breast tissue and therefore
can get male breast cancer. Signs of male breast cancer include skin
dimpling or puckering around the breast area, redness and scaling of
the breast area or nipple, bloody discharge or clear discharge from the
nipple, and a retraction or indentation of the nipple.
Many
people wonder what causes male breast cancer, but that is actually a
hard question to answer. Male breast cancer, just like any other form
of cancer, is caused when a group of abnormal cells grow at a rapid
pace, damaging and destroying the normal tissue of the area. It is not
exactly known what triggers the growth of these abnormal cells that
cause male breast cancer, however it is known that about 5 to 10
percent of male breast cancer is inherited. Also, men who carry the
breast cancer gene, BRCA 1 or BRCA 2, have a higher risk of getting
male breast cancer. Because of the genetic correlations and male
breast, it is important to know your genetic health history.
There
are some external factors that do put men at a higher rate of getting
male breast cancer. For example, if you are exposed to radiation at a
young age or as a young adult, you are more likely to get male breast
cancer. Also, if you have had Klinefelter syndrome, a syndrome that
reduces more estrogen in men, their might be a higher risk of getting
male breast cancer. Like women, it is important to check the breast
area for abnormalities, especially if there is a family history of male
breast cancer.